Mike Pence: “I thank the gentleman for yielding. I rise today in support of H.J. Res. 2, a balanced budget amendment to the U.S.…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. I rise today in support of H.J. Res. 2, a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This is a challenging time in the life of our Nation. Our economy is struggling under the failed economic policies of the recent past and under a mountain range of debt. We have an unchecked, spendthrift Federal Government that's placing a burden of insurmountable debt on our children and grandchildren. Washington, D.C. isn't just broke, it's broken. And the time has come to change the way we spend the people's money. And to do that in our national charter, the time has come for a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United States. I want to take a moment to commend just a few people who brought us to this day. I want to commend Speaker Boehner and the Republican leadership for ensuring that for the first time in 15 years we would have an up-or-down vote in the House and in the Senate on a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. But I also want to commend the gentleman from Virginia, Congressman Goodlatte, who throughout those last 15 years has been, as we say back home, like a dog with a bone on a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. His tenacity, his commitment to this reform, not singularly but predominantly, has brought us to this day, and I commend him from my heart. Our Nation is sinking in a sea of debt. Just this week, we passed $15 trillion in national debt.…”